The present invention relates to an improvement in the methods used to control the position of a truck or grain cart in relation to a harvesting vehicle while the two are traveling next to one another while traveling along a parallel line. More specifically, to a method of communication between the driver of the harvesting vehicle and the truck which allows the harvester driver to position the truck in the proper location in relation to his harvester to allow him to fill the truck to its legal capacity.
During the harvesting of crops such as potatoes, sugar beets, and small grains (for the purposes of simplicity the remaining of this text will refer to the harvesting of potatoes although the methods described herein can be applied to any number of similar processes such as the loading of rail cars and mining equipment), a harvesting vehicle such as a combine or a tractor pulled digger typically contains a tank for the storage of potatoes. When this holding tank reaches its holding capacity it is necessary to offload it into the box of a transport truck so that the harvesting vehicle can return to its job of harvesting the crop. Additionally, the noise generated by the harvesting equipment can interfere with the communication between the driver of the harvester and the load truck making operations more difficult.
As farming operations have become more efficient, it has become necessary to offload the holding tanks on the run. This means that while the harvester continues moving along the field, the holding tank is offloaded via an auger or conveyor device into the box of a truck that is traveling along side it. In performing this operation, the truck must maintain a specific position underneath the conveyor. The difficulty encountered in this operation is that the driver of the truck is unable to directly see the position of the truck box in relation to the conveyor. Additionally, it is often necessary for the truck driver to reposition the truck both side to side and backwards and forwards in relation to the conveyor to ensure that the truck box is filled to its capacity.
In the past, the person controlling the unloading process from the harvester would communicate with the truck driver by radio and instruct him to move to reposition his truck in relation to the conveyor to ensure the box was filled to capacity. While this system functions satisfactorily when there is only one harvester/truck combination working a field, the reality of modern farming operations is that there is almost always a plurality of such combinations working the same field during harvest operations. This situation is problematic as all the vehicles use the same radio frequency leading to confusion amongst the numerous operators.
From this discussion it can be seen that it would be advantageous to provides a means by which the operator of a harvesting vehicle could communicate solely with the driver of the truck with which he is working to control the location of the truck with respect to the offloading conveyor.